


Caught In The Act

by pensversusswords



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Crack, Humor, M/M, Pining, Pre-Slash, Tony Stark is not a morning person
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-05
Updated: 2015-03-05
Packaged: 2018-03-16 10:27:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3484838
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pensversusswords/pseuds/pensversusswords
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony likes going to petting zoos. No, it is <i>not</i> weird.</p><p>Also, Tony in his skivvies is something Steve is happy to find in the kitchen at 6 am.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Caught In The Act

**Author's Note:**

> Written for a prompt on my tumblr. Find me [here](http://preserumsteve.co.vu/).
> 
> I forgot I wrote this lol, and when I found it, I immediately started cackling. Dweebs. Also, what are titles?
> 
> <3

Steve had walked into the kitchen in the morning to many unbelievable sights, and more than once had he questioned the sanity of the team who had the responsibility of protecting the earth from harm. 

However, that didn’t stop Steve from stopping in his tracks as he sleepily stumbled into the kitchen at six am, to find Tony standing in his boxers and an old t-shirt, casually filling a massive bag with carrots and apples from the pile on the table. 

There were several things about this that were completely out of place, but two of them really seemed to stick out in Steve’s mind. One, Tony didn’t get up at six am, this was prime time to be either be flaked out on the couch in his workshop or furiously working on something tedious and involving a lot of numbers. Seeing him up and alert at this hour was an anomaly. Two, Tony in boxers. Well, that one wasn't so much an unheard of occurrence, but definitely one that made Steve's pulse speed up just a little bit. 

He didn’t want to dwell on that one too much, for fear of evidence of its affect on him becoming evident on his cheeks. 

When Steve cleared his throat softly, just loud enough to alert Tony of his presence. Tony visibly stiffened, the muscles in his shoulders going taut and his hand stopping part way to pick up a stray carrot. Steve didn’t need to see his face to know that his eyes were wide in an expression very like a deer caught in headlights, as though he'd been caught in the act of doing something humiliating. 

As casually as possible, Steve stretched his arms over his head and let out a wide mouthed yawn. He made his way over to the fridge, in search of orange juice. 

"Hey, Tony," he tossed out over his shoulder, nonchalant. Tony didn’t respond in the entire time that it took him to find a glass, pour what was left in the carton into the glass, and throw it out. 

"This isn’t what it looks like," Tony said eventually, a suspicious edge to his voice. He sounded like he was about five seconds away from fleeing. 

Steve turned around to face him; Tony was making a face like he’d been caught in the act of doing something deplorable rather than downright confusing, his face all pinched up and shifting his weight slightly from foot to foot. 

With one brow raised, Steve’s eyes flicked over at the carrots and apples on the table, and then back to Tony. “I have no idea what this looks like, Tony,” he replied, deadpan. 

He took a large swig from his glass, and Tony narrowed his eyes at him, crossing his arms over his chest. 

"Don’t tell anyone."

Steve shrugged, and gave him a little smile, placing the now empty glass on the counter behind him. “Not sure what I’m not telling anyone, but of course I won’t Tony. Though, I can’t imagine what could possibly be worth keeping a secret right now. What’s so scandalous about carrots and apples?”

Tony winced at that, and scrubbed a hand over his face. "It is too early for this," he groaned.

Steve just waited, with as much patience as he could manage.

"It’s not scandalous," Tony eventually told him, a faint grimace still evident in his words.  "I’d just rather no one knew, that’s all."

"Mmm," Steve hummed, "that’s it?" He didn’t say any more than that, knowing that if he just kept quiet, Tony would be more likely to ramble his way into telling him what was up. It was a tactic he’d developed since they’d become friends; it seemed that once Tony got more comfortable with him, the more substance his rambling tended to have. He just had to be patient and let him get there on his own, as long as Steve made it clear he was interested in hearing what Tony had to say. 

Also, Tony tended to be a little more honest before his coffee, when he was still sleep addled and groggily running equations in his head.

"Well no, of course that’s not it," Tony was saying, returning to his task of filling his bag. "I mean, it’s not a big deal, I’m not doing anything stupid. I mean, how much could you do with fruits and vegetables - wait, I take that back, I could definitely do some damage if I wanted to, but what I’m saying is that there’s nothing immediately dangerous happening. It’s just something I started doing a while back, that quack Pepper wheedled me into going to after New York suggested that I do something relaxing and enjoyable on a regular basis, and I found this place…"

At this point, Tony had abandoned the bag and was pouring a cup of coffee as he talked, only pausing to take a hearty sip from the Hawkeye mug he used ironically every morning. Something between him and Clint; Steve didn’t really question it. 

"Damn that’s good," he groaned contentedly into the brim of the mug. "That’s what I needed. Okay, right, so. I found this place, and it’s definitely relaxing and low stress, and it’s not something I’d normally do, but Jarvis used to take me when I was younger, and I thought it might be a good idea to try it out, and it turns out that I still like it…"

He paused again, glanced over at Steve, who gave him his best encouraging expression, a tiny smile and a nod of his head. 

Tony sighed. “I’m going to a petting zoo to hang out with some animals. The carrots and apples are treats I like to take along whenever I go to give to the staff.”

It took Steve about two seconds to process this (contrary to Tony’s belief), non-monumental information, and to break smile widely at Tony, who was still eying him suspiciously.

"That’s great, Tony," he told him warmly, his tone genuine. "That sounds really nice." 

"Don’t tell anyone," Tony said quickly, quicker than he’d planned, Steve thought, based on how he winced right after. "It’s just kind of, my thing."

Steve nodded. “Of course. Do me a favor though?”

"Hmm?"

"Can I tag along?" Steve made sure to keep his voice casual, non demanding, hoping Tony would notice that he was just interested in spending time with him like he always did, and not intruding on his personal space. "I like animals too."

Tony stared at him, still skeptical. “You want to go to a petting zoo with me.” It wasn’t a question, more of a confused statement, as if it was too ridiculous for him to even consider. 

"Yeah, if you don’t mind, of course."

Tony appraised him for a few seconds longer, as if he was expecting Steve to erupt into laughter at any moment. 

When Steve didn’t a tentative smile hovered at the corner of his mouth, one he obviously fought down by biting down on the inside of his cheek. 

"Alright, Rogers. Get dressed and we’ll go pet some damn ponies together."

 


End file.
